scholarly journals CHALLENGES WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ADMISSION POLICY FOR GRADES R AND 1 IN THE MOTHEO DISTRICT IN THE FREE STATE PROVINCE OF SOUTH AFRICA

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaysveree M Louw ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
South African ◽  
School Principals ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Admission Policy ◽  
National Education ◽  
National Education Policy ◽  
Admission Policies ◽  
South African Schools Act

At the beginning of every year thousands of learners report for Grade R and Grade 1 across schools in South Africa. Unfortunately, many learners are refused admission to these grades when parents apply. The national policy that guides and governs admission of learners to public schools is the South African Schools Act (SASA) 84 of 1996. This policy stipulates that the admission age of a learner to a public or independent school for Grade R is age four, turning five by 30 June in the year of admission. For a learner to be admitted to Grade 1, the learner has to be five, turning six by 30 June in the year of admission (SASA 1996 Section 5a-6; Ramadiro and Vally 2005:1). But SASA (1996: Section 3(1) also states that attendance is compulsory in the year in which a learner turns seven. According to the National Education Policy Act (NEPA) 27 of 1996 and SASA (1996: Section 5) the Admission Policy of a public school is determined by the School Governing Body (SGB). However, according to the findings of the research there is no uniformity and consistency in schools as far as admission to Grades R and 1 is concerned. In addition, the study reveals that many parents are unaware of the age requirements for Grades R and 1. Although SASA does stipulate the admission age to Grade R and Grade 1, it also states that schools, in the form of the SGB, can determine their own Admission Policy. Hence some schools admit learners according to SASA, while others ignore the requirements stipulated in SASA and determine their own Admission Policies. The study aims to determine what the challenges are with the implementation of the policy. A qualitative research method in the form of interviews was conducted to collect data from teachers, parents, SGBs, school principals and departmental officials. Based on the findings recommendations were made, one of which is that there should be uniformity amongst schools as far as policy implementation is concerned. The theoretical framework that guides this study is document phenomenology.

scholarly journals Towards a governance and management model for teaching schools in South Africa

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 18
Author(s):  
Sarah Gravett ◽  
Coert Loock
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
South African ◽  
School Type ◽  
National Education ◽  
The Public ◽  
Planning Framework ◽  
Education And Development ◽  
South African Schools Act ◽  
School Governing Bodies

This article reports on a project that was aimed at establishing a model for the governance of teaching schools in South Africa within the framework of the current legal dispensation for the public and the independent schooling sector. The paper mainly addresses the powers and functions of public schools and school governing bodies as defined within the broader framework of The South African Schools Act 84 of 1996, The National Education Policy Act (Act 27 of 1996), and the Employment of Educators Act (Act 76 of 1998). The analysis of these statutes informed the proposal of four possible models for governance of teaching schools. The article recommends two models that fit the mandate of teaching schools as envisioned in the Integrated Strategic Planning Framework for Teacher Education and Development in South Africa, 2011–2025: 1) a model that provides for teaching schools as a school type at national (not provincial) level, and 2) the independent school model

scholarly journals Quality Education And The Impact Of Public And Independent Schools Writing The National Senior Certificate

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 157
Author(s):  
Nelda Mouton ◽  
Gert L. Strydom
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
South African ◽  
Independent Schools ◽  
National Curriculum ◽  
Radical Change ◽  
Quality Education ◽  
The South ◽  
South African Schools Act ◽  
The Impact

A new education curriculum for a new democratic dispensation was welcomed and unavoidable in South Africa after the first democratic election in 1994. The main reason for this radical change within education was that policymakers needed to move away from the apartheid curriculum with all its attendant political baggage and address the laudable outcomes of skills, knowledge and values for purposes of achieving social justice, equality and development. Within this curriculum, the South African Schools Act (Act 84 of 1996) recognises two broad categories of schools public and independent schools. All public schools follow the National Curriculum Statement (NCS) and independent schools have the freedom to choose which curriculum and which examination body they want their learners to write, as long as the examining body is recognised by Umalusi. This article will reflect on the quality of education provided in schools by analysing the roles and impact of public and independent schools writing the National Senior Certificate in South Africa. It is important, in this context, to provide a historical overview of the background of examination bodies that have impacted on the South African school system. It is also deemed necessary to reflect on and discuss the public and independent school sector by focussing on factors influencing the logistical orientation of these sectors as well as reflecting on indicators influencing the Grade 12 examination. After analysing these factors and reflecting on issues that influence quality education in South Africa, recommendations will be made in an effort to contribute to the improvement of the standard of education in South Africa.

A Review of Medical Waste Management in South Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olaniyi FC ◽  
Ogola JS ◽  
Tshitangano TG
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Waste Management ◽  
South African ◽  
Management Practice ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Medical Waste ◽  
African Government ◽  
The Past ◽  
Government Documents ◽  
Medical Waste Management

Background:Poor medical waste management has been implicated in an increase in the number of epidemics and waste-related diseases in the past years. South Africa is resource-constrained in the management of medical waste.Objectives:A review of studies regarding medical waste management in South Africa in the past decade was undertaken to explore the practices of medical waste management and the challenges being faced by stakeholders.Method:Published articles, South African government documents, reports of hospital surveys, unpublished theses and dissertations were consulted, analysed and synthesised. The studies employed quantitative, qualitative and mixed research methods and documented comparable results from all provinces.Results:The absence of a national policy to guide the medical waste management practice in the provinces was identified as the principal problem. Poor practices were reported across the country from the point of medical waste generation to disposal, as well as non-enforcement of guidelines in the provinces where they exit. The authorized disposal sites nationally are currently unable to cope with the enormous amount of the medical waste being generated and illegal dumping of the waste in unapproved sites have been reported. The challenges range from lack of adequate facilities for temporary storage of waste to final disposal.Conclusion:These challenges must be addressed and the practices corrected to forestall the adverse effects of poorly managed medical waste on the country. There is a need to develop a medical waste policy to assist in the management of such waste.

scholarly journals THE RIGHT TO MOTHER-TONGUE EDUCATION: PRACTICABLE OR NOT?

Obiter ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chrizell Chürr
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Basic Education ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Cumulative Effect ◽  
The South ◽  
National Education ◽  
Mother Tongue Education ◽  
South African Constitution ◽  
The Right ◽  
South African Schools Act

Mother-tongue and mother-tongue education are recognized worldwide as one of the most efficient ways to function cognitively and socially. This article addresses the role of proper mother-tongue education with an emphasis on the importance of “language” since language is vital to a child’s right to a basic education in all its dimensions. Without mother-tongue education, every child’s right to learn and to become a skilful adult, able to participate independently in society, is at risk. The cumulative effect of the South African Constitution, the National Education Policy Act, the South African Schools Act, several international instruments and a number of ground-breaking cases, as well as the interaction between them on mother-tongue education will be examined. The implementation of certain education models will also be proposed.

scholarly journals The Myth of Teacher Shortage in India

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandip Datta ◽  
Geeta Gandhi Kingdon
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Education Policy ◽  
Teacher Shortage ◽  
Allocation Rule ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
National Education ◽  
Public Elementary Schools ◽  
Median Size ◽  
National Education Policy ◽  
The Individual

This paper examines the widespread perception in India that the country has an acute teacher shortage of about one million teachers in public elementary schools, a view repeated in India’s National Education Policy 2020. Using official DISE data, we show that there is hardly any net teacher deficit in the country since there is roughly the same number of surplus teachers as the number of teacher vacancies. Secondly, we show that measuring teacher requirements after removing the estimated fake students from enrolment data greatly reduces the required number of teachers and increases the number of surplus teachers, yielding an estimated net surplus of about 342,000 teachers. Thirdly, we show that if we both remove fake enrolment and also make a suggested hypothetical change to the teacher allocation rule to adjust for the phenomenon of emptying public schools (which has slashed the national median size of public schools to a mere 64 students, and rendered many schools ‘tiny’), the estimated net teacher surplus is about 764,000 teachers. Fourthly, we highlight that if government does fresh recruitment to fill the supposed nearly one-million vacancies as promised in the National Education Policy 2020, the already modest national mean pupil-teacher-ratio of 22.8 would fall to 15.9, at a permanent fiscal cost of nearly Rupees 480 billion (USD 6.6 billion) per year in 2017-18 prices, which is higher than the individual GDPs of 56 countries in that year. The paper highlights the major economic efficiencies that can result from an evidence-based approach to teacher recruitment and deployment policies.

The Myth and Reality of Teacher Shortage in India: An Investigation Using 2019-20 Data

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandip Datta ◽  
Geeta Gandhi Kingdon
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Education Policy ◽  
Teacher Shortage ◽  
Allocation Rule ◽  
Teacher Shortages ◽  
National Education ◽  
Public Elementary Schools ◽  
Median Size ◽  
National Education Policy ◽  
The Individual

This paper examines the widespread perception in India that the country has an acute teacher shortage of about one million teachers in public elementary schools, a view repeated in India’s National Education Policy 2020. Using official DISE data, we show that teacher vacancies cannot be equated with teacher shortages: while the number of teacher vacancies (in teacher-deficit schools) is 766,487, the number of teacher surpluses (in surplus-teacher schools) is 520,141, giving a net deficit of only 246,346 teachers in the country. Secondly, removing estimated fake student numbers from enrolment data greatly reduces the required number of teachers and raises the number of surplus teachers, converting the net deficit of 246,346 teachers into an estimated net surplus of 98,371 teachers. Thirdly, if we both remove estimated fake enrolment and also make a hypothetical change to the teacher allocation rule to adjust for the phenomenon of emptying public schools (which has slashed the national median size of public schools to a mere 63 students, and rendered many schools ‘tiny’), the estimated net teacher surplus rises to 239,800 teachers. Fourthly, we show that if government does fresh recruitment to fill the supposed approximately one-million vacancies as promised in National Education Policy 2020, the already modest national mean pupil-teacher-ratio of 25.1 would fall to 19.9, at a permanently increased fiscal cost of nearly Rupees 637 billion (USD 8.7 billion) per year in 2019-20 prices, which is higher than the individual GDPs of 50 countries that year. The paper highlights the major efficiencies that can result from evidence-based policy on minimum viable school-size, teacher allocation norms, permissible maximum pupil teacher ratios, and teacher deployment.

scholarly journals A critical analysis of the learners’ constitutional rights to basic education in South Africa

2017 ◽  
Vol 82 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Raj Mestry
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
South African ◽  
Basic Education ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Constitutional Rights ◽  
Religious Discrimination ◽  
Steady Growth ◽  
Admission Policies ◽  
Past Injustices

Globally, several countries have been proposing to make primary education compulsory and freely available to all. Although there has been steady growth in learner enrolment in South African public schools since 1994, the socio-economic status of parents, racial and religious discrimination, high cost of school fees and schools’ language policies have prevented poor learners from accessing basic education, especially in public schools located within affluent areas. This paper critically examines legislation and policies relating to children’s constitutional rights to basic education. The government’s mandate to redress past injustices and concentrate on social justice and equity in public education is hampered by the failure of many schools tocorrectly interpret or consistently apply legislation and regulations relating to learner admissions. It has been found that the admission policies drawn up by school governing bodies (SGB) covertly prevent poor learners from enrolling at affluent schools. Although school admissions have been contested in various court cases, governing bodies of some affluent public schools continue to practise unfairness in opening its doors to all children. To ensure that social justice and equity prevail in school education, the Department of Education should revise policies or amend existing legislation encouraging SGBs to provide learner access without any prejudice.

scholarly journals Turnaround Learner Discipline Practices through Epistemic Social Justice in Schools

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rudzani Israel Lumadi
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
South African ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Justice Theory ◽  
Discipline Practices ◽  
Social Justice Theory

Researchers claim that learner discipline has continued to be a problem in schools since corporal punishment was outlawed in public schools in South Africa. It is evident that teachers have a vital role to play in the improvement of learner discipline in schools. An interpretivist qualitative approach was adopted to investigate learner discipline practices as perceived by teachers in South African public schools. A sample of 10 (3 principals, 3 teachers, 3 parents and 1 learner) participants was used for the study. Social justice theory was used as a lens to consider the process of humanising learner discipline practices in terms of human rights. The article investigates how learner discipline practices can be turned around through epistemic social justice to influence the quality of teaching and learning in schools. The findings revealed that in South Africa there are no effective learner discipline practices. There is a need for education authorities to introduce compulsory training and development programmes for aspiring teachers to be equipped with new strategies to deal with learner discipline through a social justice approach. Social justice theory was used as a tool to address learner discipline practices in selected schools. It was recommended that there be more parent involvement in decision-making to consider a policy of transforming learner discipline practices to deal with the inequality and injustice in schools.

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